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List of basketball players who died during their careers

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This is a list of all notable basketball players who died while still on a team roster or as a free agent. A majority of them died in accidents such as cars or plane crashes. Some suffered sudden cardiac death, which has a higher incidence in basketball among young athletes.[1][2] Some suffered from the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,[3] which is more common in African Americans. Basketball has a considerably higher ratio of African-Americans than other sports.[4] Other deaths were caused by drug abuse.[5]

Included are players in the NBA, college, and other leagues. Players who died following the conclusion of their career should not be included. Players are listed with the team for which they last played before death, rather than the team with which the player spent most of their playing career.

Basketball teams may honor active players who died by bestowing upon them a posthumous honor of a retired number.

Deaths of active players with individually notable careers

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This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Name Age Position Team League Cause of Death Year Ref.
Davide Ancilotto 23 Shooting guard Virtus Roma Lega Basket Serie A brain ischemia 1997 [6]
Nilay Aydoğan 30 Forward Çankaya Üniversitesi Women's Basketball Super League earthquake 2023 [7]
Ricky Berry 24 Small forward Sacramento Kings NBA suicide by gunshot 1989 [8]
Len Bias 22 Small forward Boston Celtics NBA heart attack (drug induced) 1986 [9]
Haris Brkić 26 Small forward Partizan YUBA homicide by gunshot 2000 [10]
Gilbert Bulawan 29 Power forward / center Blackwater Elite PBA heart enlargement (collapsed during practice) 2016 [11]
Terrence Butler Reserve forward Drexel Dragons NCAA suicide 2023 [12]
Terrence Clarke 19 Shooting guard Kentucky Wildcats NCAA car crash 2021 [13]
Jason Collier 28 Center Atlanta Hawks NBA heart enlargement 2005 [14]
Bryce Dejean-Jones 23 Shooting guard New Orleans Pelicans NBA gunshot 2016 [15]
Patrick Dennehy 21 Center Baylor Bears NCAA homicide by gunshot 2003 [16]
Kenny Ejim 27 Power forward Al-Najma Bahraini Premier League unknown 2022 [17]
Wayne Estes 21 Forward Utah State Aggies NCAA accidental electrocution 1965 [18]
Lavelle Felton 29 Shooting guard Paderborn Baskets ProA homicide by gunshot 2009 [19]
Scott Fenton 24 Shooting guard Perth Wildcats NBL car crash 1989 [20]
Ryan Francis 19 Point guard USC Trojans NCAA homicide by gunshot 2006 [21]
Oscar Frayer 23 Forward Grand Canyon Antelopes NCAA car crash 2021 [22]
Terry Furlow 25 Small forward / shooting guard Utah Jazz NBA car crash 1980 [23]
Hank Gathers 23 Forward Loyola Marymount Lions NCAA heart condition (collapsed during game) 1990 [24]
Eddie Griffin 25 Power forward / center Minnesota Timberwolves NBA car crash 2007 [25]
Huck Hartman 25 Center Youngstown Bears NBL pneumonia 1946 [26]
Lauren Hill 19 Forward Mount St. Joseph Lions NCAA brain cancer 2015 [27]
Tyler Honeycutt 27 Small forward BC Khimki EuroLeague suicide by gunshot 2018 [28]
Stevan Jelovac 32 Power forward / center AEK Athens Greek Basket League stroke (collapsed during practice) 2021 [29]
Chuck Karmarkovich 24 Forward / center Johnstown Clippers AABL car crash 1951 [30]
Radivoj Korać 30 Power forward Petrarca Padova Serie A car crash 1969 [31]
Connie Kunzmann 24 Forward Nebraska Wranglers WPBL homicide by stabbing 1981 [32]
Wendell Ladner 26 Forward New York Nets ABA plane crash 1975 [33]
Reggie Lewis 27 Small forward Boston Celtics NBA cardiac arrest secondary to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (collapsed during practice) 1993 [34]
Fernando Martín Espina 27 Power forward / center Real Madrid Baloncesto Liga ACB car crash 1989 [35]
Jovan Manović 29 Point guard AS Prishtina KBS homicide by gunshot 2007 [36]
Conrad McRae 29 Power forward / center Orlando Magic NBA heart enlargement (collapsed during practice) 2000 [37][38]
Fab Melo 26 Center Brasília NBB heart attack (died in sleep) 2017 [39]
Michael Ojo 27 Center Crvena zvezda ABA heart attack (collapsed during practice) 2020 [40]
Ruslan Otverchenko 33 Shooting guard Budivelnyk European North Basketball League heart complications 2023 [41]
Adreian Payne 31 Center / power forward Juventus Utena LKL homicide by gunshot 2022 [42]
Kim Perrot 32 Point guard Houston Comets WNBA lung cancer 1999 [43]
Dražen Petrović 28 Shooting guard New Jersey Nets NBA car crash 1993 [44]
Mark Petteway 27 Small forward / power forward Apollon Patras Greek Basket League suicide by gunshot 1989 [45]
Bobby Phills 30 Shooting guard Charlotte Hornets NBA car crash 2000 [46]
Slobodan Popović 24 Forward Crvena zvezda Yugoslav League groin injury complication 1968 [47]
John Postley 30 Forward / center Wilkes-Barre Barons EPBL heart attack 1970 [48]
Katrina Price 23 Shooting guard Philadelphia Rage ABL suicide by gunshot 1999 [49]
Bill Robinzine 29 Power forward Utah Jazz NBA suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning 1982 [50]
Danny Rumph 19 Point guard Western Kentucky NCAA Cardiac arrest due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy 2005 [51][52]
Malik Sealy 30 Small forward / shooting guard Minnesota Timberwolves NBA car crash 2000 [53]
Abraham Sie 22 Point guard DUC Nationale 1 unknown 2022 [54]
Marvin Stone 26 Center Al-Ittihad SPL heart attack (collapsed during halftime) 2008 [55]
Chris Street 20 Power forward Iowa Hawkeyes NCAA car crash 1993 [56]
Tauras Stumbrys 34 Point guard Atletas Kaunas LKL heart attack (collapsed during game) 2004 [57]
Örlygur Aron Sturluson 18 Point guard Njarðvík Úrvalsdeild karla accidental fall 2000 [58]
Robert Traylor 34 Power forward / center Vaqueros de Bayamón BSN heart attack 2011 [59]
Zeke Upshaw 26 Small forward Grand Rapids Drive G League cardiac arrest (collapsed during game) 2018 [60]
Nick Vanos 24 Center Phoenix Suns NBA plane crash 1987 [61]
Alexandros Varitimiadis 28 Power forward Raiffeisen Dornbirn Lions Basketball Zweite Liga cancer 2023 [62]
Ludovic Vaty 34 Power forward / center TOAC Basket [fr] Nationale masculine 2 heart attack 2023 [63]
Luciano Vendemini 24 Center ChinaMartini Torino Lega Basket Serie A heart failure (undiagnosed Marfan's syndrome) 1977 [64]
Michael Wright 35 Power forward Cholet LNB Pro A homicide 2015 [65]

Evansville Purple Aces plane crash

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Fourteen members of the 1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team died in a plane crash on December 13, 1977, along with fifteen others including head coach Bobby Watson. The players killed were:

  • Seniors: Kevin Kingston, John Ed Washington, and Marion Anthony “Tony” Windburn
  • Juniors: Stephen Miller and Bryan Taylor
  • Sophomores: Keith Moon
  • Freshmen: Warren Alston, Ray Comandella, Mike Duff, Kraig Heckendorn, Michael Joyner, Barney Lewis, Greg Smith, and Mark Siegel

Freshman David Furr, the lone member of the team who did not board Air Indiana Flight 216, died two weeks later in a car crash, meaning all the members of the team died during the 1977–78 season.[66]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lakkireddy, Dhanunjaya; Gunda, Sampath; Gopinathannair, Rakesh; Murtaza, Ghulam; Gunasekaran, Prasad; Bickel, Trenton (December 2019). "Sudden Cardiac Death in Famous Athletes, Lessons Learned, Heterogeneity in Expert Recommendations and Pitfalls of Contemporary Screening Strategies". Journal of Atrial Fibrillation. 12 (4): 2193. doi:10.4022/jafib.2193. PMC 7237076. PMID 32435342.
  2. ^ Smith, Sam (October 16, 2005). "Collier's death raises NBA heart issue". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Baird, Nathan (March 4, 2014). "Purdue says Jay Simpson has career-ending heart condition". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 25, 2021. Purdue announced Tuesday night that Simpson's basketball career is over. Tests discovered a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- the same condition that led to the deaths of basketball stars Hank Gathers, Reggie Lewis, Kevin Duckworth and Jason Collier.
  4. ^ Massop, Brian (June 19, 2014). "Death on the Basketball Court". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  5. ^ Smith, C. Fraser (March 14, 1995). "Big-Time Basketball: So Many Tragedies". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  6. ^ Galdi, Andrea (26 August 1997). "LA TRAGEDIA DI ANCILOTTO 'MA E' UNA MORTE ASSURDA'" [The tragedy of Ancilotto 'But it is an absurd death']. la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  7. ^ Pickman, Ben (March 6, 2023). "'For us, the world stopped': Teammates, friends remember Turkey earthquake victim". The Athletic. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  8. ^ "What Demons Drove Kings' Ricky Berry to Commit Suicide?". Deseret News. August 20, 1989. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  9. ^ "Cocaine Caused Bias' Death, Autopsy Reveals : Dose Said to Trigger Heart Failure; Criminal Inquiry to Be Pressed". Los Angeles Times. June 25, 1986. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  10. ^ "Umro Haris Brkić". blic.rs. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  11. ^ Blackwater forward Gilbert Bulawan dies after collapsing during practice Archived 2016-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, Richard Dy, Fox Sports Asia, July 3, 2016
  12. ^ "Drexel University men's basketball player died by suicide, Philadelphia officials say". WPVI. August 4, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "Sources: UK men's basketball player Terrence Clarke dies in Los Angeles". WKYT. April 22, 2021.
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  16. ^ "Dennehy was murdered in 2003". ESPN.com. June 9, 2005. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
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  18. ^ "50 years after his bizarre death, Wayne Estes remains a towering presence". The Missoulian. February 9, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  19. ^ "Felton, 29, dies after shooting". ESPN.com. August 14, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
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  21. ^ "Francis shot and killed in Baton Rouge". ESPN.com. May 13, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  22. ^ Bieler, Des (March 26, 2021). "Grand Canyon men's basketball player dies in car crash days after starting in NCAA tournament". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  23. ^ "Crash Kills Furlow". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. May 24, 1980. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  24. ^ "Loyola's Gathers Collapses, Dies". Los Angeles Times. March 5, 1990. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  25. ^ "Griffin killed when car hit train last week". ESPN.com. August 22, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  26. ^ "Huck Hartman Dies of Pneumonia". Pittsburgh News. March 25, 1946. p. 18. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  27. ^ "Lauren Hill, Who Fought Tumor to Play College Basketball, Dies at 19". New York Times. April 11, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  28. ^ Perez, A. J. "Coroner confirms former NBA, UCLA player Tyler Honeycutt died by suicide". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  29. ^ "TUGA: Preminuo Stevan Jelovac, košarkaški reprezentativac Srbije". Novosti (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  30. ^ "Johnstown Clippers Disbanded After Death of Karmarkovich; Joll Escapes Auto Injury". The Indiana Gazette. January 12, 1951. p. 15. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  31. ^ Faris, Nick (2 March 2020). "The incredible tale of a hoops legend and his 99-point game". TheScore.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  32. ^ "Women's basketball player believed dead". St. Joseph Gazette. St. Joseph, Missouri. 11 February 1981. p. 38. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  33. ^ Nelson, John (June 25, 1975). "Airplane Crash Claims Wndell Ladner's Life". Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. p. 20. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  34. ^ "Celtics' Lewis Dies After Collapsing in a Gym". New York Times. July 28, 1993. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  35. ^ "Fernando Martín, a pioneer gone too soon". euroleague.net. February 4, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  36. ^ B92 (2007-05-10). "Juče ubijen košarkaš iz Splita" (in Serbian). Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ "Former Syracuse Star Dies". New York Times. July 12, 2000. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  38. ^ "Meet new Binghamton forward Jordan McRae, son of former Syracuse basketball center Conrad McRae". syracuse.com. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  39. ^ "Former Celtic top pick Fab Melo dead at age 26". Boston Globe. February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  40. ^ name=https://www.tomahawknation.com/platform/amp/2020/8/7/21358461/micahel-ojo-former-florida-state-center-dead-at-27-fsu-basketball-serbia-fmp-aba-crvena-zvezda
  41. ^ "Ruslan Otverchenko passed away at 33". Eurohoops. January 15, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  42. ^ "Former NBA and Michigan State player Adreian Payne shot dead at age of 31". The Guardian. May 10, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  43. ^ "Kim Perrot, 32, Leader of W.N.B.A. Champions". New York Times. August 20, 1999. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  44. ^ "Details Emerge, but Petrovic's Death Still Baffles". New York Times. June 9, 1993. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  45. ^ "Arrested Developments: Players Go From Breaking Ankles to Ankle Bracelets". College Hoopedia. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  46. ^ "Hornets guard Bobby Phills killed in car wreck". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. January 13, 2000. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  47. ^ ""SRCE JUNAČKO, DUŠA DJEVOJAČKA" Sjećanje na Bobana Popovića, uspješnog košarkaša iz Bijeljine". infobijeljina.com. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  48. ^ "Barons' star collapses, dies during cage game". Scrantonian Tribune. August 2, 1970. p. 58. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  49. ^ "A Player's Unsettling Death Leaves Others Wondering Why". New York Times. January 23, 1999. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  50. ^ Shapiro, Michael (October 18, 1982). "The Mystery of the Life and Death of an Athlete". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  51. ^ Mike Jensen (10 August 2017). "Rumph Classic features hoops for good cause". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 44. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  52. ^ Michael Casagrande (28 November 2005). "College pays tribute to Phila. hoops star". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C7. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  53. ^ "Sealy dies in collision with pickup truck". ESPN.com. May 22, 2000. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  54. ^ Fosty, Darril (April 7, 2022). "Ivory Coast's Dakar University Club Abraham Sie Dies At 22". Boxscore News. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  55. ^ Coghlan, Curtis (28 March 2019). "Marvin Stone dies during pro basketball game in Saudia Arabia". Advance Local. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  56. ^ "Chris Street: A Hawkeye Through And Through". Bleacher Report. May 22, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  57. ^ "Krepšininko širdis sustojo per rungtynes". kauno.diena.lt (in Lithuanian). 16 October 2004. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  58. ^ Edda Sif Pálsdóttir (14 July 2014). "Ísland í dag: Halda minningu Ölla á lofti". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  59. ^ "Robert 'Tractor' Traylor found dead". ESPN.com. May 12, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  60. ^ "Zeke Upshaw dies two days after collapsing during G League game". ESPN.com. March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  61. ^ "Suns' Vanos Among Victims in Detroit Jet Crash : Popular Center, 24, Was Expected to Be a Starter for Phoenix Next Season". Los Angeles Times. August 18, 1987. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  62. ^ Gulenoglou, Michalis (May 8, 2023). "Alexandros Varitimiadis: Lament in Greek basketball, "gone" at the age of 29". Gazzetta (in Greek). Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  63. ^ Thomas, Xavier (1 September 2023). "Le joueur de basket Ludovic Vaty est mort à 34 ans deux jours après son arrêt cardiaque lors d'un entraînement à Toulouse". La Dépêche du Midi (in French). Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  64. ^ "La Stampa - Consultazione Archivio". www.archiviolastampa.it. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  65. ^ DeLessio, Joe (November 12, 2015). "Police Treating Former Knicks Draft Pick's Death As a Homicide". New York Magazine. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  66. ^ Lyles Jr., Harry (2017-12-13). "'Oh my God, it's the Aces': Remembering the University of Evansville plane crash that shook college basketball". SBNation. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
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